Alphabet Spaghetti
by Raolia
Summary: Random drabbles, because I have writers block and a case of AWS. Taang, Zutara, sibling Toko, Soki, maybe Yuokka.
1. Masquerade

**I'm going to post a random story, so I can add random chapters when the urge to write hits me.**

"A masquerade ball?"

"Yup."

"Where everyone wears masks?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

"Because," Aang says excitedly, "it's fun! And so people can dance with others not worrying about appearances!"

The blind girl raises a mocking eyesbrow. "Not worry about appearances?"

"Yeah! You can really get to know people, and you can't recognise them at all, so if you mess up, nobody knows it's you!"

"I think it's pointless."

"Pointless?"

"To me, anyway."

"What! Why?"

She snorts, flicks him in the head and walks away, laughing to herself.

Only minutes after she's gone, does Aang realise his mistake.

It just makes him feel like a fool.

* * *

**Because Toph going to a masquerade ball would be pointless. She can't see, and she reads vibrations, so she'll know who everybody is, anyway!**


	2. Love at First

**I've always wanted to write a Zutara...**

The couple was young, and odd. Nothing like other couples around the North Pole, because _normal_ couples held eachother close, coddled eachother and crafted gifts for eachother. This couple didn't do any of those things. Instead of walking through the icy park, hand in hand, watching as the last few rays of the sun bounced of the white wonderland, they sat back-to-back with their eyes closed, just leaning against eachother and speaking every now and then.

"As soon as I saw you, I knew you were the one for me," said a man (ignoring the snickers of the one of the teenagers sitting on the bench). He knelt down on one knee, and pulled a beautiful silver necklace out of his pocket.

"Will you marry me?"

The tall, dark haired lady gasped, and her hands flew to her mouth.

"Yes!' she squealed. "Yes! Yes, I will!"

The man stood back up, and they were lost in a romantic kiss, before walking away, holding hands happily.

"Rubbish."

The adolescent boy with messy black hair, golden eyes, and a flame shaped scar on his face, snorted, then said it again. "Absolute rubbish."

"What?" Cried the girl that was leaning against his back with her own. "Why is it rubbish? I thought it was really romantic."

"It was," Zuko said. "But the thing about 'as soon as I saw you, I knew you were the one for me'? _That_ was rubbish."

"Why?" Katara asked.

"I don't believe in love at first sight."

"You don't?"

"No, I don't. Actually, I'm surprised_ you_ do."

"You are?"

"You're a little bit slow this evening, aren't you?" Prince Zuko said, with an upward quirk of his lips.

"Shut up. It's been a long day!"

"I suppose spending your day watching little kids splash around in puddles would make it feel long, wouldn't it?"

"Be nice! My students are getting really good! Anyway, go back to what you were saying before."

"Yes, well, I'm surprised _you_ believe in love at first sight. When we met, I didn't love you, and _you_ certainly didn't love me."

The water bender snorted, remembering the times when he would chase them all over the world.

"You got that right."

"And look where we are now. I certainly love you, and you certainly love me."

"Do I?"

"Yes, you do." He turned toward her for the first time, and she saw a flicker of worry behind his eyes. "Don't you?"

She snorted again, and pressed her fore head against his. "Yes. I do."

"So we're agreed then?"

"Yup."

**Sorry about the bad ending.**


	3. Sick Little BadgerMole

Toph thought she would never encounter anything so tormenting in her life. She never thought she could feel this _angry_, this _pained_...

This _annoyed_.

She suddenly broke into a coughing fit, her whole body shuddering with the force of the hacking coughs. Her hand grabbed at the cloth that bound her chest, as if she could somehow squeeze away the uncomfortable feeling.

She stood shakily, and stumbled around, trying to find something to wrap herself in. She found a bag (who's it was, she did not know), and fumbled with the clasp. She had finally gotten it open, when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder, pulling her gently away from the random bag.

"Come on, badger mole, you need to rest."

She tried to protest, but when she opened her mouth to talk, nothing but a wheezing sound came out.

"Don't...wanna...," she coughed out. Suddenly, the ground was gone from beneath her, and she was gently swung over a warm shoulder.

"Sparky!" She wheezed, "put..me...down!"

The exiled prince, or 'Sparky', as he was now commonly called, chuckled, and swung her back onto the ground. She landed on something soft, and found that it was Sokka's funky smelling sleeping bag, resting on top of Appa's soft fur..

"Smells...ba-"

The small earth bender broke into another coughing fit, and she felt strong arms wrap around her.

"Relax," Zuko said with a grin, "just calm down. You'll get better soon."

Toph attempted to talk again, but to her complete and utter mortification, found that she could no longer make noises _at all_. She crossed hair arms over her chest, and scowled, looking about ready to rip somebody's head off.

"Just go to sleep, little badger mole, or I'll call Katara over."

Toph stared at the prince in open-mouthed horror. She had finally suceeded in getting the fussy Water Tribe girl to leave her alone for a minute, promising that she would lie down and try to get better (she'd had her fingers crossed behind her back). All those annoying questions! _Are you okay? Where does it hurt? Do you need some help?_

A warm hand came and rested on her forehead. "Your fever's coming up. Maybe I _should _call Katara over..."

Toph grabbed a handful of earth and threw it at him.

"Don't...you..._dare_."

The small girl then broke into another coughing fit, caused by her determination to keep talking. She stood up, and tried to walk away, but she again found herself cradled in the warm arms of Zuko. She struggled momentarily, but broke into another coughing fit, and then settled for glaring at him.

Sadly, glaring at him with a flushed face and half-closed eyes didn't seem to work, because he chuckled (again. Was he enojoying her pain?), and put her back on the sleeping bag.

"Cold..." she mumbled, wrapping the warm blanket around her tighter. She reached blindly for another blanket, but her rough hand landed on Zuko's arm, and she pulled him down next to her. After getting over his momentary astonishment, he wraped his arms around the small earth bender, and raised his body temperature slightly. Looking down at the peacefully sleeping child in his arms, his last thoughts before drifting off to sleep, was that he would never, _ever _let anything hurt her...

* * *

Katara sighed as she bent the last of the water out of her hair. She was exausted. Taking care of everyone at the temple was _hard_. Meals needed to be cooked, clothes needed to be fixed, and Toph was so _stubborn_ when it came to taking care of her. She was expecting to see havoc when she arrived back at the main court yard. She expected to see Sokka whining for food, Teo and the Duke experimenting with who knows what, maybe even Haru ripping up chunks of earth with Toph. (She didn't expect the blind girl to keep her promise about resting).

What she didn't expect was for it to be quiet and peaceful. And the thing that truly shocked her was the sight of her little earth bender snuggled up against Zuko, her head resting on his lap, and his arms wrapped around her, leaning against Appa who was snoring loudly. She smiled and her eyes softened at the sight. She went to check on Tophs fever and found it had gone down. She stretched and sat down, thinking that resting her feet wasn't much of a crime. Suddenly, something warm wrapped around her arm, and she found that it was Zuko's hand. She relaxed immediatly, and looked at his face. His eyes were still closed. She yawned. _Just a few minutes..._

She was asleep before she closed her eyes.

**Bad, I know. I don't really like it, actualy, but the world needs more siblingly Toko.**


	4. She Told Me

If you loved, you had to lose.

He knew that, and he understood it. But that didn't make it hurt any less.

His heart was torn into a million pieces that no longer fit together. He had thought he was out of tears, but when he reflected on what had happened, a new wave came. He felt so _hopeless_. So _helpless._ So _guilty_.

One year. One whole year. He couldn't decide on whether it had been as slow as possible, or faster then imagined. His memory was sharp, because so much had _happened_ between then and now; too many things to forget. He gave a miserable laugh at himself. Crying was _not_ manly.

But right then, he didn't care.

The full moon stared down at him, almost accusingly. He stared back, and more tears pricked at his already red and puffy eyes. This was why he didn't cry much. Apart from the fact that it wasn't manly, he didn't look very attractive when doing it.

But then again, he didn't care.

"Sokka?"

Suki's arm slipped over his shoulder, as she sat down next to him on the roof. He didn't bother to wipe away his tears, and she didn't care. They were beyond that.

"What's wrong?" She asked, gently nudging him with her shoulder. He didn't reply for a while; he just sat there and watched the full moon, as it continued to gaze upon them, surrounded by all it's-- her, he didn't know why he referred to the moon as an 'it', when it was so obviously a her-- bright friends.

"It's been a year," he whispered, shrugging, but still shivering. She squeezed him tightly, as if determined to squish his shattered heart back together. Well, it was working.

Kind of.

The silence was brief, but somehow seemed to last lifetimes. When Suki finally spoke, it was the last thing Sokka expected.

"She doesn't blame you, you know."

For the first time, he looked away from the sky, only to stare at his loved in wide-mouthed astonishment.

"How do you know?"

This time it was Suki who shrugged, but a smile played at her lips.

"She told me."

"When?"

"A few months ago. It was weird; I was having this dream about elephant koi, and then my surroundings changed. It got all misty, and then there she was, the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen-"

"You're just as beautiful as her," Sokka mumbled.

"-and she started talking to me," Suki continued, ignoring her boyfriend's compliment. "She told me that she was Yue, the moon spirit, and then she filled in all the blanks about why you always looked at the moon so much."

"And she just told you? That she didn't blame me, I mean."

"That...and other things."

"Other things?"

"Oh...she just told me to keep you away from cactus juice."

Sokka threw his hands up into the night air. "We keep coming back to the juice! It was once, a long time ago, people!"

"So you _have_ drunken cactus juice!"

"That's beside the point and-"

"ANYWAY, she told me to take care of you, because, well, you know how you can get-"

"How can I get!?"

"And she told me that I was extremely lucky."

Sokka was silent at that last part, but a smile tugged at his lips.

"She did?"

"Yes, but she shouldn't have."

"She shouldn't've? Why? You don't think so?"

"No."

She kissed his lips sweetly, and wrapped her arms around him tight.

"I already knew."

**I thoughtt I should do something with the YuexSokkaxSuki thing in it. And, I have way too much time on my hands, since the holidays have started. Yay!**


	5. Finale Spazzing SPOILERS

**I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO FULLY SPAZZ ABOUT THE AVATAR FINALE AHHHHH**

**SPOILERS**

**THE SIBLING TOKO WAS SO CUTE!**

**But that Kataang ending didn't make sense... I mean, Katara has only ever showed very **_**minor**_** signs of been attracted to Aang, and then everybody is happy, hooray Ozai is defeated and she just wants to **_**eat his face**_**? Umm...**

**But I think I died a little inside with that scene.**

**Anyway, I would like to applaud all Kataangers for standing strong and supporting their ship, when the Zutarian empire was so vast. Same with the Maiko shippers. -Claps-**

**There were some things I didn't like, though. Mainly it's the poke-in-the-back-and-BAM! thing with Aangs chakra. There was so much dramatic build up, every fan wondering how the hell Aang was gonna defeat the Fire Lord without the Avatar State, and then he gets **_**poked in the back with a rock and everything is okay?**_

**Going extremely off-topic here, those scenes with Suki, Sokka and Toph were GENIUS. Well, every bit with Toph was absolutley badarse and awesome, but...**

**"I don't think boomeraang is coming back."**

**That line made me nearly burst into tears.**

**I felt so bad for Azula. Seriously, I wanted to give that girl a hug and a lolly pop. I mean, she is evil and vindictive, but...she really lost it. I don't even think her father ever even **_**loved**_** her. I just think he viewed her as a prodigy that he could use to his advantage.**

**BUT THERE WERE SO MANY PLOT HOLES AND LOOSE ENDS. THERE BETTER BE MORE, BRYKE, OR YOU WILL FEEL MY WRATH.**

**What about Zuko's mummy?? What about Ursa?? They can't leave us hanging like that! THEY CAN'T!**

**And I still demand a Kummi-Taang episode. Seriously. They can't just put Koh in one episode, and just forget about him. I mean, I know they did this with Song, Meng, and numerous others, but Koh is a giant freakin centipede with the ability to steal faces.**

**And it is a commonly known fact amoung Taangese that Koh will try to get Toph for revenge or something like that. How do we know this? it's logic. How is this logic? Don't question the Taangese.**

**MELONLORD!TOPH FOR PRESIDENT!!**

**Oh, and it's my birthday on the 10th of August.**


	6. Blue and Red

Blue.

Blue eyes, filled with blue tears. A perfect body, wrapped in blue silk. A blue mood. Everything was blue.

And it didn't make sense, he thought, that the colour that had brought him so much happiness would cause him so much pain. Her life was slipping through his fingers, like sand, being washed away in the tide, while he stayed ashore. This small spot of blue in his world of red. His everything. His blue.

Red.

A red scar, on a frightened, red-blotched face. A strong, well-toned body smothered in red robes. A red mood. Everything was red.

It made sense, she thought, that the colour that had brought her so much love would be the last thing she would see. He stayed on land, burning bright, a beacon, while she was washed away into the tides of time. Her small pocket of red in a blue world. Her everything. Her red.

A slowing heart,

a gasp,

a weak "I love you,"

a sad reply,

a plead not to leave,

a goodbye,

tears,

blue eyes closing,

silence.

And the blue was gone from his world of red.

**Something I thought up at school, showed to some friends, and they told me to post it. Also, because I felt like I was neglecting Zutara, with FSL been all Taang, even though there will be Zutara in later chapters. Oops! Haha. I'm buying myself some time. Or perhaps losing some. Hmm...**

**Next chappie of FSL will be up by Wednesday by the latest. Probably be up by Sunday, though!**

**Remember kids, hugs not drugs!**


	7. Beat That

She grinned at her rival, and though she couldn't see, she knew that he grinned back.

"GO!"

The earth at first momentarily gripped at her ankles and then pushed her forward so hard that she would've gone flying if the ground hadn't risen up and caught her again. It was quite like a Rabbitroo bouncing along, except little of the power was from Toph's own legs. The earth propelled her along, pushing her, eager for her to win this race as she was herself. After a few seconds, she changed her way of travel, opting to move like she was ice-skating, except, once again, the ground moved her. She grinned wildly and hoped she didn't get any bugs in her teeth. His laughter reached her keen ears in the wind _he_ rode, and she pushed herself even harder.

A problem arose. I very, very large problem. A mountainous one, to be exact. The mountain was indeed very big, it's peak lost in the clouds and no visible edge at the base. Toph gritted her teeth together. Going up or around it would take too much time, probably causing her to loose this race. And she absolutely refused to loose.

She took a breath, pushed herself up from the earth, and jumped. There was a moment of suspense, when she glided through empty air, much like a diver, arching her back and clasping her hands in front of her for her entrance back to earth. She could feel it, her faithful element, very close. With a quick movement of her hands, the side of the steep mountain parted, and she returned back to the earth, burrowing into the mountain. She moved just as fast as before, her hands out to part the compacted dirt in front of her. She could feel small insects around her, and the comforting presence of a large badgermole nearby, coming closer to investigate the reason for someone invading it's underground home. It was next to her for a brief moment, like how a dolphin would appear beside a swimmer, before disappearing back into it's own tunnels.

The edge was close. With a final push, the Blind Bandit burst through the otherside of the mountain, into open sky, and fell back onto the ground that once again caught her. She was close to her destiniation now, and she could tell that he was just as close. She had lost her headband somewhere along the way, probably when she had dived into the mountain, and her ebony hair streamed behind her. She kept going, almost to the clearing that marked the finish line.

She crossed it with ease, then drew herself to a stop. She was sweaty and panting, but she grinned as just a moment after her, her rival whooshed past the finish line.

"Beat _that_," she said, smirking from ear to ear.

"No fair," he panted, landing beside her. "You could go through the mountain. I had to go around."

"Excuses, Twinkle Toes? It's not my fault that air can't go through earth. What's that saying? _No matter how hard the harsh wind howls, the mountain will not part to it._"

"It's still not fair!" Her opponent, the Avatar, continued to complain. "And the saying is _No matter how hard the harsh wind blows, the mountain will not _bow_ to it_."

The small earthbender made a 'Pfft-ing' sound, flicking her bangs out of her eyes, only to have them spring back in place. "I still won. So, what was it you had to say again?"

Aang mumbled something.

"What was it? I couldn't hear."

He growled, cleared his throat and said in a much louder voice; "Toph Bei Fong, the almighty Blind Bandit and awesome Runaway, is the greatest earthbender in the whole world. She could kick the Avatar's ass any day of the week."

Toph grinned. "Now that didn't hurt, did it?" She said, patting the sulking Airbender on the head.

"It hurt my pride," he grumbled. Toph laughed.

"Pride? Pride in what? You're thin as a stick, and weak! You're just a little kid!"

"Am not," he said, kicking the ground.

"Sure you aren't, big guy."

"I'm not! I'm tough and...manly..."

Toph burst into laughter. "Manly? You're....manly...haha..."

He was an aribender, after all. And airbenders were fast. Quicker then she could feel, he had grabbed her around the waist and covered her mouth with his. She was shocked for a moment; it was, after all, her first kiss. Fireworks exploded inside her, and her brain scrambled for reason.

He pulled apart after a few moments of Toph's helpless mental flailing, and smirked.

"Beat _that_."

* * *

**In English we had to write something "Involving travel on land, sea, in the air or underground." Good stuff.**

**Having fun, isn't hard, when you've got a library card! XD**


	8. Dance

The music grew fainter as they walked further away from the dance floor. They breathed in the sweet, fresh, crisp night air, a refreshing change from the hot, passionate atmosphere of the festival. The moon was barely a sliver of silver in the dark night sky, and a few stray clouds drifted over the stars. It wasn't the classic, cliché and romantic setting that most people fantasize about, but it was good enough for them. After all, neither of them really needed much light to see. One of them actually couldn't.

That said person tottered while she walked, swaying and miss-stepping, a strange thing for Toph Bei Fong to do. Her strong footfalls were gone, replaced by the tipsy steps of a carefree teenager, and her loud, brash voice was replaced by playful whispers and fluttering, girlish giggles. Her cheeks were flushed red and her eyes sparkled with mischief.

"You know, Twinkles," she slurred, stumbling and giggling, clinging onto his sleeve in a playful manner, "You should loosen up. Have some fun. Do that…the what ya' call it. Dance. You know…the one."

Aang rolled his eyes, catching his friends arm before she could face plant into the ground. "Someone had to make sure you get home. If you'd stayed there you would've started a bar fight."

"They deserved it," she said with some recovered dignity, dignity she quickly lost again. "They're all…stupid. And moronic. And….stupid."

"You already said that."

"Yeah…well, they're stupid…stupid-heads," she mumbled. She pulled away from him with a giggle. "You know, you should've gone onto the floor and did that thing you do…dance. That's the word. It was fun."

He chuckled. "I don't think that's the greatest idea."

Toph gave a drunken pout. "Still not sulking, are you?" She slurred. "You're such a sour-puss…"

The Avatar lifted his chin. "Am not," he said.

Toph rolled her sightless eyes. "Sure, sure…you're over her, right? 'Cuz Sparky won her, fair and square…"

"I'm not sour. I think it's great."

"Right…that's why you were all…pouty when Katara was dancing with him?"

"I was not pouty!"

"You were so! I saw you…." She squinted in his general direction. "Do you really still love her?"

Aang looked at her, stunned. Toph didn't usually approach the topic of Katara. She probably thought he would come to her if he needed her. This direct, no-nonsense question surprised him.

"Well, no. I'm happy for her. Are you still hung up on Sokka?" He teased.

Toph flushed an even deeper red, this blush caused by embarrassment rather then the effects of the many cups of fire whiskey she had just consumed.

"I don't like Sokka!" She yelped, jumping back.

The airbender laughed. "Sure. Of course you didn't have a crush on him."

She narrowed her eyes at the laughing monk, jabbing him in the chest. Her poke lacked it's usual force.

"Yeah, fine. I might've liked him a _little_ bit. But I don't anymore."

Aang raised an eyebrow he knew she couldn't see, but didn't ask questions. Toph glared at him, a glare that lost effect through hazy, half-lidded eyes, before turning and continuing to walk.

"Anyway," she said, giggling, "the one I _really _love now is…" She giggled. "Zuko."

Aang gaped at her. She just giggled again.

"W-what!?"

Toph was openly laughing now. "Hehe…haha…You should've seen your face…I didn't, but your jaw probably hit the floor…"

He huffed but smirked anyway. Her tipsy, good mood was contagious.

"C'mon Sifu T. We gotta get home."

He knelt down in front of her and she clambered onto his shoulders. Being off the ground still terrified her, but she would trust Aang with her life. When his strong hands gripped her, she wasn't afraid of falling.

He kept walking for a while, while Toph rested her chin on his bald head. His feet crunched along the pebbled pathway, the one that led through a few fields until they got to the guest house where Toph was staying in the Fire Nation. A few crickets chirped now and then, but the night was silent.

"You know, Twinkles…" Toph whispered, her giggles gone now. All she had was the blunt honesty that alcohol always left. "You never danced…"

He sighed. "You said that, Toph." Her bare, dirty feet were leaving smudges on his clean light orange shirt, but he didn't mind.

"No…I mean, when we were in the Fire Nation, during the war…and you had that party for all those stuck-up Fire kids…."

"Huh?" He said. He hadn't thought about the time during the war for a long, long time. He was hit by a sudden nostalgia. Nostalgia for the time when his friends, his whole family, was always together, and no one had to stay or be left behind because of duty, because of social commitments…when they were never apart.

"You know…with the headband… and you asked Katara to dance…"

He remembered the heat of the moment, when it was him and Katara, the center of attention, two halves of one dance. Too bad that dance lost rhythm and, eventually, fell apart. She had a new dance partner now. Zuko.

"…You never asked me to dance.

He stopped in the middle of the pebble road, and opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. He hadn't? Why hadn't he? Because he was lost in the moment; he was lost in the hopes of what should have been, what _could_ have been, if he was never Avatar, and if none of that had ever happened. He was lost in the dreams of a normal childhood, where no one was lost and everything was found. He forgot everything but what he saw in front of him—a beautiful girl, that always held him when he cried and protected him.

He didn't see the other beautiful girl in that cave—the one not nearly as graceful or as approachable, the one no one asked to dance. The one, even after that painfully obvious neglect, stuck with him when the first girl left. He'd never asked her to dance.

He was about to speak, to apologize, when he heard a small snore, followed by another, and then another. Her breathing had evened, and she was sleeping, exhausted after the nights' excitement. He smiled, and kept walking.

_I'll tell you tomorrow._

* * *

**I'm quite fond of this one.**

**Fa la la, procrastination~**

**Fa la la, inspiration~ -- http: // riakitsuneyoukai dot deviantart dot com / art / piggyback - 101133753**

**No spaces, real dots, yada yada. Stupid not linking crap.**


	9. Promise

_Boom. Boom. Stutter. Stop._

_Boom. Boom. Stutter. Stop._

_Boom. Boom. Stutter. Sto-_

"Hey Toph. You okay?"

The young girl jumped at the sound of her friends voice, hurriedly drawing mud stained fingers across her cheeks to get rid of the water that had _somehow_ gotten there. The action left stains on her pale face, and she kept her head down to let her bangs hide it.

"Hi, Sokka," she said gruffly. She picked up a handful of dirt and let it run through her fingers.

_Boom. Boom. Stutter. Stop._

She clenched her small fist tight, her knuckles turning white from the strain.

"Are you okay?" Sokka asked, walking closer and sitting cross-legged next to her. "Have you been crying?"

"No," she said, turning her head away. "I'm fine." She felt a hand under her chin, tilting her dirt-smeared face.

"Toph," the warrior said, concern obvious in his voice. "What's the problem? Are you hurt?"

_Boom. Boom. Stutter. Stop._

The air was thick with tears and pain and _fear_. The ground was soaked in blood--the blood of both their enemies and of their comrades. And that blood soaked ground carried the vibrations of flailing movements, slowing movements, heartbeats that choked and _death_, and although she acted strong and put on a brave face, she was still only twelve. And no twelve-year-old should _ever_ have to feel the dying heartbeats of their friends and comrades.

"I can feel it Sokka," the Blind Bandit whispered. "I can feel their hearts stop. I can feel them _dying_."

The young man made a surprised sound. "You can?" Toph just nodded mutely.

_Boom. Boom. Stutter. Stop._

_Boom. Boom. Stutter. Stop._

_Boom. Boom. Stutter. Sto-_

And then she couldn't feel the death anymore because two strong arms picked her up from her position on the ground, and lifted her onto soft, strong legs. She curled herself into his lap, her hands clenching fistfuls of his shirt and she let her tears soak into the material.

"There," Sokka said, and Toph could feel his voice vibrate through his chest. "Better?"

The young girl nodded, breathing in his scent of sweat and blood and comfort. She was well and truly blind now, because she had been taken away from her earth. But this time, she didn't mind.

_Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom._

One steady, rhythmic heartbeat, strong and loud. She could hear it and feel it, and it didn't stutter and it didn't stop. It was always there, just there, and it spoke of life and it promised no more death.

"Sokka?" She said softly, into his shirt. She closed her eyes and didn't look at him for a response.

"Yeah?" He said, tucking his chin on top of her head.

"Promise me you won't let your heart stop beating."

He laughed and the vibrations tickled her ears, and danced with his heartbeat.

"I promise."

* * *

**And why am I writing this when I should be finishing other fanfics? Because I'm lazy! 8D**


	10. Touch

It felt so strange.

The sleek, slightly fuzzy surface on top. She ran her fingers over the dome and her hands dropped lower. Two rounded things, slightly large protruding from either side of the main dome. She let her curious fingers scamper further across the object, feeling two fuzzy lines, soft indents, then lower still to yet another protruding thing, sloping outward gently. And yet lower to a soft, fleshy line that quirked upward at her touch. She let her dirt-stained fingers dance along the object, feeling the slightly soft surface and exploring every detail, nook and cranny. Finally, after more searching, she withdrew her hands from the object and looked down at it.

"You look weird, Twinkle Toes."


	11. Tomfoolery

It was on the third day of visiting Fire Lord Zuko's palace that Toph decided:

Insanity is just a word.

Words don't really mean anything.

Rules aren't just meant for _breaking_; they're meant for shattering into tiny, tiny, minuscule fragments.

She would use her power over Aang to bend him around her little finger.

She wants to ride a Kimodo Rhino before she dies.

And really, she argued when she was later scolded by Katara, it was _their _fault. Everyone in the gaang knew that the first rule of travelling was that under no circumstances was Toph to be left alone when they were on a quest to _impress_other nations and noble persons. And leaving her with Aang so that the Avatar might exercise some control over her wasn't better at all-- if anything, it encouraged her.

The meeting had been going quite well with Katara and Sokka conversing, negotiating and planning with Zuko and the other Fire Sages. Aang had been excused from the meeting as it had soon become evident that the Avatar had no experience in the world of material possessions and objects for trade, money, politics and he didn't like the biscuits they were offering as refreshments. Too spicy.

There was, of course, no way in hell that Toph would be made to sit through one of those meetings. And the Water Tribe siblings and Fire Lord really should have heard the danger bells ringing when Aang had casually said "I'll go hang out with Toph, then."

They had almost reached an agreement regarding growing crops and trading within Fire nation territory and waters when the east wall collapsed. They lost sight of eachother in the storm of dust and debris and all they could hear was, "Twinkles, I think we hit something."

Pinning the blame on the stable hand was useless. No way could they expect the meek, frightened stable boy to stand up to the Master Earthbender-- even if he was eleven years older then her. After all, it _was _Toph Bei Fong-- the thirteen-year-old girl who was known to make grown men cry. And Toph insisted that the Kimodo Rhino's had been on a rampage and she and Aang had been trying to stop them before they could do serious damage, like, say, collapsing a wall on a group of very, very important Fire Sages and ambassadors.

Aang just stood there and quailed beneath Katara's gaze.

After everything had been cleared up, apologies been made, high fives been initiated between Toph and Aang (and a discreet one to Sokka), and the Terrible Two scolded and told that everyone was "Very disappointed with the both of you" the meeting was relocated to another room-- this one as far away from the stables as possible-- and the negotiations started anew.

Toph and Aang had been left under the watchful eye of Sokka. It didn't really work. The second rule of travelling was that Sokka wasn't much better at supervising Toph then Aang was.

Needless to say, the shinnanigans had soon restarted and the palace was in complete havoc.

It wasn't a very productive day for the world.

* * *

**Oh, crack fics. How I've missed you so.**


	12. Cards

"Two aces."

"Three kings."

"One Queen."

"Four thre-"

And it was then that Toph started laughing evily and yelling her head off. On the other side of the table, Aang, Sokka and Zuko groaned. Turning to the others, the Fire Lord whispered;

"Spirits, _why _did we let Toph play Bullshit?"

* * *

**For those of you who don't know, Bullshit is a card game that involves being able to read people and _lie_. And since Toph is good at both of those things, she would kick ass.**

**Obviously.**


	13. Listen

They wouldn't listen.

The sounds came from her throat. They were sculpted into words by her tongue and teeth and they fell from her mouth into the ears of a deaf audience. And they would smile and patronize and fuss over her ability to do this. They would hear her- but they wouldn't listen.

_I'm strong, I'm capable, I can do this._

Why wouldn't they listen?

Her words, her words—what was wrong with her words?

Or, more accurately…

What was wrong with her audience?

Why was what she had to say disregarded? Was it unimportant? Didn't it matter? Because she was blind, her opinion had no meaning? Why wouldn't they believe her? Why wouldn't they understand?

_Why wouldn't they listen?_

And so she shut herself away, and ceased to speak.

* * *

She wouldn't listen.

Why _would_ she listen? Because this boy, this one little boy, with his footsteps so light and his voice so loud, had asked her to? Never. Because this boy, this one little boy, had taken from her this one place where she could throw those sculpted words around, fling them from her throat. He who had humiliated her and shamed her and acted as if her taunts, her stinging words had not affected him. And he'd done all this to her because he wanted her to _listen_ to him.

She _refused_ to.

And she slammed that wall of rock up between herself and him, herself and the stadium, herself and the rest of the world—because their cheers were so loud and their laughing was so vibrant and she _just didn't want to listen._

* * *

_He won't listen._

It's dark. It's so completely dark. And having lived all her life in darkness, you wouldn't think that this would scare Toph Bei Fong. But it did, because this darkness was different- it was _everywhere_. All around her, smothering, stifling, and she breathed it in and it filled her lungs, choking her. This darkness, absolute, complete darkness—it was terrifying. She screamed. It wasn't a sound that was made in her throat and sculpted by her mouth (a mouth that was no longer there). It was a vicious, piercing sound that came from deep within her and was then flung out to fend for itself in the darkness- and she hoped against hope that it wouldn't get lost in the black oblivion and that maybe, somehow, hopefully, it would find it's way to his ears. And that when it did, he would _listen._

Was this payback? She wondered. For that one time, when they first met, and she had not listened to him? It could be. After all, he had always listened to her. Whether she was confiding in him, or advising him, or yelling at him, he would always listen to what she had to say. Was it because he understood what it was like, to not have a voice? Or was it simply because he knew she needed it? Either way, she was grateful for what he had done. He had taken her quiet whisper and turned it into a huge roar. Without him, she reflected, she wouldn't be her.

And in that darkness she stopped screaming and with her carefully sculpted words she said the same thing, over and over and over again.

_Please, please, please. Just listen._

* * *

**HOLY CRABCAKES ON THE BACK OF A PONY I haven't posted anything in a while. Or written anything at all, really. So this is a little...er, all over the place. ^^;**

**MY FINGERS ARE FREEZING.**

**And look at all those randomly italic-ed words. *whistles***


End file.
